Franklin Fire in Malibu only 7% contained, but improving weather could aid crews fighting 4,000-acre blaze: Live
Roughly 20,000 face evacuations in Malibu, including some celebrities, as fire continues to rage near Los Angeles
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Your support makes all the difference.A fast-moving wildfire has scorched 4,000 acres in Malibu, forcing 20,000 residents to flee as flames advanced on homes, horse farms and Pepperdine University.
The Franklin Fire, yet another late-year wildfire fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds, has left a trail of destruction as officials confirmed seven structures destroyed and nine damaged.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Meteorologists warned that even though the strongest winds in the area have passed, high fire dangers have decreased. That should aid efforts to contain the fire.
Evacuations have displaced thousands of residents, including celebrities such as Dick Van Dyke and Cher.
Malibu mayor Doug Stewart called it a “traumatic 20 hours” for the city, as emergency operations relocated to Calabasas after the city hall was threatened.
"It burns, it grows back, and we're resilient," Stewart said.
More than 1,500 firefighters are battling the blaze with many roads closed and others under security patrols.
At Pepperdine University, 3,000 students sheltered in place as smoke and embers engulfed the campus. “Ash was everywhere, embers were everywhere,” said a student, Bethany Kronlund.
Photos show devastation of Malibu wildfire
Meta social media platforms are down as the fire continues to burn
All of Meta’s platforms – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads – appear to have broken in a huge outage.
“Hi, we know there’s a technical issue impacting some people’s ability to access Instagram,” it wrote on the official Instagram page on X/Twitter. “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience.”
The Independent’s Andrew Griffin has the latest:
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors chair assures progress is being made
Power outages in California continue to fall
Fewer than 50,000 California customers were without power on Wednesday, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.
That tally had exceeded 60,000 on Tuesday.
Malibu resident says fireproofing helped protect her home
Fireproofing steps helped to protect a Malibu resident’s home from the Franklin Fire.
Rosie Rains said she had recently trimmed her trees and cleared surrounding brush from her yard, according to KABC-TV.
She also put safer pre-burnt wood on her roof and built a firetruck turnaround in her yard.
“There are a lot of people up here that don’t do that,” she told the station. “You’re only as safe as what your neighbors are doing.”
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